What is Oregon Getting in Georgia State Transfer Taylor Hosendove?
Less than 24 hours after losing his fourth player of the offseason to the transfer portal, Kelly Graves added forward Taylor Hosendove from Georgia State Wednesday.
Hosendove is the first transfer to commit to Oregon this offseason. She spent the past two seasons at Georgia State, where she led the Panthers in scoring and rebounding each year. She played her first season of college basketball at Clemson in 2018.
“Taylor is a good addition to our program,” Graves said in a press release. “She is a versatile player who can play both inside and out and do a little bit of everything for us.
“I really love the toughness that she will bring to our team. We’re excited to get her to Eugene and get to work.”
Hosendove is exactly the kind of player that Graves needed to add to his roster. She is a skilled scorer — she can create her own shot on the perimeter and attack the basket, two things the Ducks often struggled to do late last season.
She has a nose for the basketball on the offensive glass, collecting an impressive 3.6 offensive boards per game in 2019-20 and 2.3 per game in 2020-21.
Hosendove did it all for the Panthers in 2020, resulting in an All-Sun Belt Third Team selection. She averaged 12.5 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.96 blocks per game.
The Los Angeles native is already the most experienced player on the Ducks roster — she played 51 games at Georgia State and 32 games at Clemson. She may also be the most versatile player on the team, a title that Angela Dugalic likely would have claimed before her departure to UCLA.
While Hosendove (6’1”) is shorter than Dugalic (6’4”), she has a similar game to the 2020 5-star recruit. She can shoot from the outside — knocking down 34.5% of her three-pointers last season — and she can handle and distribute the ball like a guard.
Hosendove has two years of eligibility at Oregon, meaning that she will get a front-row seat to the growth of one of the youngest and most talented teams in the country. She will likely have to sit out next season, seeing that this is her second transfer, but she can still provide the Ducks with a much-needed veteran presence.
She can apply for a waiver to gain immediate eligibility, but that wouldn't be until closer to the season.
The starting small forward job may belong to Sydney Parrish or incoming freshman Taylor Bigby, but should she be granted immediate eligibility, Hosendove could earn that spot given her versatility and experience at the position. If she doesn’t start right away, expect her to be one of the first players that Graves calls off the bench.
Given recent additions, the roster would stand at 10 players for next season, and all but Hosendove and Ahlise Hurst have played one season or less at the college level.
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